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August 26, 2022 | Austin, Texas | Press Release

Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Texas National Guard are continuing to work together to secure the border, stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas, and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to more than 297,200 migrant apprehensions and more than 19,000 criminal arrests, with more than 16,400 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, DPS has seized over 335.5 million lethal doses during this border mission.

Texas has also bused over 7,400 migrants to our nation's capital since April and over 1,500 migrants to New York City since August 5. The busing mission is providing much-needed relief to our overwhelmed border communities.

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden's open border policies.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS FROM OPERATION LONE STAR:

WATCH: Governor Abbott Spotlights Migrant Busing To NYC, Dire Fentanyl Crisis

Governor Abbott joined Americas Newsroom on Fox News to spotlight New York City Mayor Eric Adams hypocrisy in complaining about bused migrants from Texas arriving in his sanctuary city. After the Governor invited Mayor Adams and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to the border to see the crisis firsthand, the mayors have not accepted the invitation and refuse to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem.

This is not a Texas problem; this is an American problem caused by the president, said Governor Abbott. We need more Americans to call on the president to uphold his oath of office and enforce the immigration laws of the United States.

GOVERNOR ABBOTT: Eric Adams Is All Talk When It Comes To Open Borders

In an op-ed for the New York Post this week, Governor Abbott called out Mayor Adams for boasting about his sanctuary city policies, while failing to live up to his campaign promises. Despite remaining silent when President Biden flew migrants to New York, the mayor is now condemning anyone who presses him to follow through on his ill-considered sanctuary city policies.

Mayor Adams likes to sloganeer that This is America and we need to start acting like it, Governor Abbott writes. We are a nation of laws. Its time to start enforcing them. Doing that would restore the humanity he is clamoring for.

Read Governor Abbotts op-ed.

WATCH: Governor Abbott Points Out Mayors Political Games Amid Border Crisis

Governor Abbott joined Fox Business Larry Kudlow to discuss disastrous policies of Democrat leaders like President Biden's open border policies and New York Mayor Adams' hypocritical sanctuary city and the chaos they are creating at our southern border.

The only reason we have all these people coming across the border is because of President Bidens open border policies, said Governor Abbott. It was just two years ago we had record low numbers of people coming across the border illegally under President Trump because of the four policies he put in place that President Biden eliminated when he became president.

Texas National Guard Seize 80 Lbs. Of Narcotics Near Residential Area Of Laredo

Texas National Guard soldiers seized 80 lbs. of narcotics near a residential area of Laredo with the assistance of U.S. Border Patrols Air and Marine Division. Border Patrol helicopter pilots identified multiple drug smugglers attempting to enter the country and radioed their location to ground forces.

The would-be smugglers left a bundle of narcotics before fleeing, and Border Patrol air assets used infrared lasers to communicate to Texas National Guard soldiers on the ground the exact location of the bundle to seize the drugs.

WATCH: Texas National Guard Soldier Describes Recent Narcotics Seizure

A Texas National Guard squad leader described a recent nighttime seizure of 80 lbs. of narcotics from a residential area of Laredo. Working alongside Border Patrol, soldiers tracked smugglers from Mexico attempting to move narcotics into the U.S.

This is why were here, said the squad leader.

WATCH: DPS, Federal Partners Find 26 Illegal Immigrants Inside Tanker Trailer

After stopping a commercial vehicle tanker trailer in Laredo, DPS troopers, agents from the DPS Criminal Investigation Division, and federal law enforcement officials discovered 26 illegal immigrants concealed inside the tanker.

The driver and passenger were arrested for human smuggling. In all, 14 males and 12 females from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador were referred to Border Patrol.

WATCH: DPS Troopers Catch Deported Felon From Mexico Living In U.S. Illegally

During a traffic stop last week, a DPS trooper discovered the driver had an outstanding warrant for indecency with a child for sexual contact. It was also discovered the driver was a deported felon from Mexico living in the U.S. illegally. He was charged with the outstanding warrant and failure to identify by a fugitive with intent to give false information.

PHOTO: DPS, Federal Law Enforcement Seize 15 Lbs. Of Cocaine

Agents from DPS Criminal Investigations Division, working alongside federal law enforcement, seized 15 lbs. of cocaine in Webb County. The drugs were concealed inside a bag. One person was arrested.

WATCH: Narcotics Smuggler Leads DPS Troopers On High-Speed Pursuit

DPS troopers were led on a high-speed pursuit by a narcotics smuggler last week in Cameron County. After attempting to evade multiple police agencies, the smuggler finally came to a complete stop and was apprehended. A total of 10 bundles of marijuana weighing approximately 240 lbs. were discovered inside the vehicle.

The smuggler was charged with evading arrest and possession of marijuana.

See the original post:
Operation Lone Star Accelerates Migrant Busing To Sanctuary City NYC - Office of the Texas Governor

And there could be worse to come much worse when the prices energy suppliers can charge are lifted again in January. More than eight million families face being plunged into fuel poverty, a status which kicks in when more than ten per cent of disposable income goes on paying for power.

Businesses are not covered by any kind of cap at all and face astronomic energy price hikes. Some will be able to pass the rise on to customers. Others, especially small businesses, will simply go to the wall.

This scale of price increase for an essential commodity dwarfs the impact of measures that we normally get worked up about at the time of a Budget, when Chancellors can run into big trouble for adding a couple of hundred pounds to tax bills.

So one might expect the Government to be ready with a new package of measures to cushion the blow. But news of the latest fuel bill carnage has come as Boris Johnson is serving out his final days as premier and before LizTruss, his likely successor, has taken office.

Both did their best on Friday to offer reassurance. Johnson rightly set the crisis in the context of Vladimir Putins aggression in Ukraine and his subsequent suspension of most of Russias gas supplies to Europe.

He pointed to measures already announced that will channel hundreds of pounds extra to families. Every domestic bill payer is going to get a 400 discount paid in instalments between October and next March. In addition, eight million most vulnerable households will get further support, including a payment of 650 for those on means-tested benefits, 300 for pensioner households and 150 to those on certain disability benefits.

This, said Johnson, amounted to a pipeline of cash that stretches out throughout the autumn. Yet all this support was put in place earlier in the year to help families cope with the last round of price increases. It is a testament to Johnsons ability as a communicator that he offered reassurance that extra support would be coming soon to help with the latest enormous rise. But there was no point in anyone asking him what that might be because it wont be down to him to decide.

On September 6, Ms Truss is set to take office facing the most formidable array of crises any new premier has encountered since Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Every indicator seems to be heading in the wrong direction from general inflation to ambulance response times, the migrant crisis to an upsurge in violent crime.

Yet all these things are dwarfed by the impact of soaring increases in wholesale energy prices.

So Ms Truss must prioritise energy policy from day one, not just in an emergency Budget in mid-September, but right away in a stand-alone package.

Perhaps some of the MPs who chose to dump Johnson may be experiencing second thoughts now that a national crisis to match the scale of the Covid pandemic is in sight. It hardly seems an ideal time for a novice to take the reins.

So Truss needs to get a big call right if her premiership is not to unravel very quickly. Her inner-circle is divided between those who want her to confine extra state support to pensioners and the poor and those who believe the energy crisis is so severe that middle-income families must be included as well.

Ideologically she is likely to be inclined to the former view, preferring radical measures to increase energy supply, along with tax cuts and rhetoric about more hard graft to point those on average incomes towards a method of cushioning the living standards blow by themselves.

But millions of hardworking families in the middle of the income scale will not take kindly to being left out in the cold. The lesson of recent years from the financial crisis to Covid is that governments are well-advised to respond early and at a scale which bolsters public confidence.

Ms Truss on Friday wrote that she would not just throw taxpayers money at problems as a quick fix. She is right to identify higher growth as the long-term way out of the living standards slump.

But to underfund a fiscal package in the meantime would amount to the ultimate false economy plunging the UK into a deep recession while leaving key groups of voters feeling abandoned. There might be no coming back from that.

Read more:
Truss must think and spend big to solve energy crisis, says PATRICK O'FLYNN - Express

The U.S. Department of Defense again turned down D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowsers request for support from the National Guard to deal with the migrant crisis.

Meanwhile, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has moved to aid the migrants bused into the city from Texas and Arizona.

The Bowser administration initially made the request on July 19 but was rejected by the Pentagon because the request was too-opened, according to the mayor. The Pentagon also believes that funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency would suffice, WTOP reported, citing The Associated Press.

The mayors latest request, on Aug. 11, asked for a 90-day deployment of National Guard members.

Because D.C. is not a state, only the president can deploy the citys National Guard members. However, in a letter Monday, the Pentagon said doing so would be inappropriate to the task no matter the duration, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by WTOP.

The letter said a group of civilian and non-governmental organizations have the experience in dealing with the situation and are backed by FEMA funds.

Norton has introduced an emergency appropriations bill for the current fiscal year to provide an additional $50 million for FEMAs Emergency Food and Shelter Program. The funding is designed for humanitarian assistance to migrants such as those being bused to D.C. and New York City by Texas and Arizona.

The governors of Texas and Arizona are exploiting and harming desperate and vulnerable people fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries for political gain, she said. I commend the work organizations in D.C. and the National Capital Region have done to assist these migrants, but more funding is needed to assist these families.

Visit link:
Pentagon Denies Bowser Help from National Guard in Migrant Crisis for Second Time - The Washington Informer

On Monday, a record 1,295 refugees arrived on Englands south coast after crossing the Channel in 27 small boats.

It was the highest daily total since records began, and prompted familiar comments from the Home Office, who said the numbers were unacceptable and it was all the people smugglers fault. In truth, however, the Government is now compelled by its own figures to admit that its asylum policies, which promised to deter refugees from crossing the Channel, have failed.

But it is not just a question of failure. Refugees sent to Rwanda could be forced to join the countrys army and sent to fight in neighbouring states, it was revealed in court disclosures last month. Despite this, Tory leadership hopefuls Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have doubled down on the plan because it is popular among Conservative Party members.

To promise to send refugees to a foreign country with a poor human rights record would be grotesque under any circumstances; but in this case it is all the worse because the evidence shows Channel crossings will continue regardless. The Governments policies may in fact be persuading more people to make the Channel crossing.

We know that the Rwanda plan is not a deterrent, because since it was announced, small boat crossings have reached this record high. But Care4Calais has its own evidence from refugees in northern France, too. From 1-7 August, our volunteers surveyed 270 refugees in Calais and Dunkirk camps. We found that 61 per cent of refugees were aware of the Rwanda policy, but the vast majority of them 85 per cent said it would not stop them trying to claim asylum in the UK. Some 89 per cent per cent said they wouldnt consider trying another country in Europe. And crucially, 84 per cent said that the Rwanda policy wouldnt have stopped them leaving their own country if they had known about it before setting off.

The great deterrent will not work because of another policy ministers rarely mention in public. All official asylum claim routes for refugees, such as those in northern France, have now been shut off by the UK Government. Fewer than one per cent of refugees are eligible for official schemes. That causes the crisis we now see, with people driven into the hands of people smugglers and record numbers of terrified people risking their lives on the cold, dark water of the English Channel.

UK government policy is driving up the numbers they claim to be so intent on reducing. Desperate refugees do not have any meaningful choices. They are victims of the very worst tragedies; they have seen their families killed in conflicts; they have been tortured and abused by tyrants; and they have survived horrendous journeys. These refugees are desperately seeking safety. In most cases, they are trying to reach the UK because they have family and friends here who can shelter them.

It can seem a hopeless situation. But there is a fairly simple solution. Of the 20,000 people who have risked everything by crossing the Channel on boats so far this year, not one has been a Ukrainian citizen. Why? Because Ukrainians are given visas for safe passage to the UK.

If Truss or Sunak are serious about stopping dangerous boat journeys and breaking the smugglers business model, the answer is clear: offer refugees from other countries a process like the scheme for Ukraine. Screen them in Europe and provide visas for safe travel to those with a viable asylum claim. They can then get to the UK and claim asylum on arrival without risking their lives. This would put people smugglers out of business and end the chaos on the Channel.

The winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be announced on 5 September the same day our joint court action against the Rwanda policy returns to the High Court. If the next Prime Minister wishes to solve the problem that has bedeviled the Government for more than a decade, they should heed mounting evidence and abandon the Rwanda plan as soon as they enter 10 Downing Street.

Their immediate priorities should be delivering a workable solution to the Channel crossing with visas for safe passage, alongside tackling the cost-of-living crisis at home.

No one will miss the Rwanda plan. When the crossings end, as they so easily could, everyone will be happy even Conservative Party members.

Clare Moseley is the founder of refugee charity Care4Calais

See the original post:
The Rwanda plan isn't working but there is a simple solution to the migrant crisis - iNews

Weary of Venezuela's autocratic government and the pittance he earned in the military, Dario Maldonado deserted and fled with his family to neighboring Colombia.

But life remained hard money was tight and expenses mounted. So he set off for the United States, an odyssey that required him to travel by foot through Central American jungle infested with venomous snakes and gun-toting bandits, sometimes sidestepping the corpses of people who died on the same journey.

Now Maldonado and thousands of other asylum seekers from across Latin America and the Caribbean are caught in the political battle over U.S. immigration policy after two Republican governors started sending busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington.

Border cities such as San Diego have long wrestled with influxes of asylum-seekers and created well-oiled machines to respond, but the nation's largest city and its capital were caught flat-footed. That created an opening for Greg Abbott of Texas and Doug Ducey of Arizona to exploit what they consider failed Democratic leadership.

Nearly 8,000 migrants have arrived on the state-sponsored bus trips, straining the resources and humanitarian services of both cities, which have also sought assistance from the federal government.

This can be chaotic. But we want to send a message: Were here to help, and we want to put politics aside, said New York Citys immigration commissioner, Manuel Castro, as he greeted arriving migrants on a recent morning.

Abbott started the practice in April with Washington, and Doug Ducey followed suit in May. Abbott also recently began sending buses to New York.

For migrants, the politics are only dimly understood and far less relevant than finding temporary shelter, jobs and a long-term home in America.

I have heard that the Texas governor is anti-immigrant, Maldonado said outside a New York shelter. It is like a war between the party of the governor of Texas and the party of Biden.

A voluntary consent form for free transportation from Texas tells migrants that Washington is where the president and members of Congress are more immediately able to help address the needs of migrants.

Migrants who sign a consent form for a free trip to New York are told that the city has designated itself a sanctuary for migrants, who are provided with food and shelter.

A new group of asylum seekers arrived in New York City by bus from Texas Friday morning as the city announces a plan to get all the children arriving here to the NYC Schools system. Andrew Siff reports.

U.S. authorities stopped migrants 1.43 million times at the Mexican border from January through July, up 28% from the same period last year. Many are released on humanitarian parole or with notices to appear in immigration court.

The sight of both cities scrambling to cope with the influx drew undisguised schadenfreude from Abbott, who called New York City "the ideal destination for these migrants, who can receive the abundance of city services and housing that Mayor Eric Adams has boasted about within the sanctuary city."

In both cities, social service charities and churches have mobilized to support new arrivals, offering temporary shelter, medical attention and often a ticket to their next destination as they await a date in immigration court.

Many are fleeing persecution and other very severe circumstances. Theyre confused. And we want to make sure that we support them as much as possible and make sure that theyre not being used as political pawns, Castro said.

Mayor Eric Adams for weeks has promised to give shelter and support to every migrant family being bused to NYC from Texas but the I-Team has learned some families seeking asylum are being told they're not eligible. NBC New York's Melissa Russo reports.

On a recent August day, a bus of 41 migrants from Arizona arrived at a church in Washington's Capitol Hill neighborhood, where they were greeted by workers from SAMU First Response, an international relief agency. Within minutes the group was enjoying a hot meal inside the church and filling out arrival forms.

Texas buses arrive haphazardly, said Tatiana Laborde, the agency's managing director. They only hear from charitable groups that a bus carrying a certain number of people has departed. At some point about 48 hours later, that bus drops off riders at Washington's Union Station.

Arizona provides detailed manifests of passengers and their nationalities, coordination on arrival times and has medical personnel aboard each bus.

They dont want to just dump people here," Laborde said.

Many of those who arrive in Washington dont stay long. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in her second request for National Guard support, told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that most migrants stay up to three days before moving on to their final destinations.

"They dont know much about D.C. other than the president is here, Laborde said.

The Pentagon on Mondaydenied the mayor's request for help, saying the use of the National Guard would be inappropriate and would hurt the overall readiness of the troops by forcing some to cancel or disrupt military training.

Yes We Can World Foundation provides bilingual education to kids awaiting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. LX News contributor Moon Mandel brings you inside a converted 55-passenger bus where classes are held, and students can receive clothing, food and assistance in the immigration process.

Kelin Enriquez, another Venezuelan, was among them. She and and her children first arrived in Washington and later found themselves at a family center in the Bronx to plan the family's next steps.

No one leaves their land because they want to. We want to work. We want a better opportunity, said Enriquez, who helped care for Alzheimers patients in her native country.

Some migrants see a free ticket from the border as the best of bad options. For Eduardo Garcia, the top priorities were finding a job and a place to live and starting life anew.

It was an agonizing journey, even if he hadnt broken his left ankle while trying to keep his wife from falling along the perilous trail. He limped in pain for more than 1,000 miles.

I didnt care because I cared more about getting here, he said.

He told no one about his fractured limb until he arrived in New York, where he got medical attention, a cast and crutches.

The Remain in Mexico policy was enacted, then rescinded, reinstated and ultimately overturned. Political theater and warring parties continued throughout. Heres whats led to the migrant crisis in New York City.

In New York, many of the migrants make their way to the offices of Catholic Charities. Officials in Texas it is unclear who listed the office as the migrants' address, which perplexed church officials at the New York Diocese. The diocese has now received more than 1,300 court notices on behalf of migrants.

I think we were maybe caught off guard, a little bit disappointed by the governments in Texas and Arizona just putting individuals on buses to D.C. without any plan at the other end, said Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of migrant services for Catholic Charities in New York.

In the last two months, the procession of Venezuelans seeking refuge in the United States has grown dramatically. In July, Border Patrol agents stopped Venezuelans 17,603 times up 34% from June and nearly triple from July 2021.

The United States does not recognize the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro because of allegations that the country's 2018 election was a sham. The lack of official recognition complicates the country's ability to take back asylum-seekers. The Mexican government also refuses to accept the migrants, which gives the U.S. few options in handling Venezuelans.

Advocates for the homeless are threatening to sue the Adams administration. Melissa Russo explains why.

At a New York City shelter, brothers Leonardo Oviedo, 22, and Angel Mota, 19, seemed giddy shortly after arriving in New York. They had plans to reconnect with an acquaintance in New Jersey.

Big plans lie ahead. Oviedo wants to land a job. Mota wants to attend school. How they will accomplish their dreams was still uncertain as the pair swiped through photos of relatives they left behind in Venezuela, including their mother, grandmother, brother and sister.

For now, neither brother is especially concerned about the politics that brought them here.

We had nowhere to go," Mota said outside a shelter on a sweltering summer morning. "This is where they would welcome us.

Read more:
Asylum Seekers Caught in Political Battle Pitting NYC and DC Against Texas and Arizona - NBC New York